12/03/2023
Christmas, for me, has always been my favorite time of the year. It is not primarily, and not sure it has ever been, due to getting gifts from under a Christmas tree. Christmas was exciting because it was a time to be around family. This was the time we got to go to grandma and grandpa’s house and spend the whole day playing with cousins that we had not seen since the last holiday. We seemed to be pretty close back then.
The food was good too. I always loved to eat my grandma Lorene’s pinto beans. She had mastered how to cook them. I could almost make a meal out of just beans and corn bread. Grandma Pearl made a great feast too but if I had to choose between the two I would always choose Grandma Lorene’s pinto beans.
While it wasn’t necessarily the highlight of the Christmas holiday, it was a grand time to gather around the tree and open gifts. At grandma and grandpa’s house we would get basic things that you use every day — socks, underwear, cologne, etc. Some cousins would always get cool gifts — basketball, scooters, and such — but they were always willing to share them. Christmas with family was the best. Lots of fun! Lots of laughter! Lots of laying down differences and just coming together as family.
Mom always had a special way of getting us gifts that were amazing. I now look back and knowing how mom struggled to meet monthly bills, she would always make Christmas’s the best. Because we were poor, it made all the more reason to believe that Santa actually did help mom with the gifts that she would get us. Later, I found out that she would work extra hours and then still pay for Christmas with her tax returns or a little each month until it was paid off.
Christmas was special because of family. It is still special to me today because of that value of family my mother taught me. Much of that family, has now passed on. It is up to me to make Christmas a special day for my family and, likewise, it is your responsibility to make Christmas special for your family.
I hope and pray that you can find joy this holiday season as you gather together to celebrate the greatest time of the year with your family.
